Sole-assorting machine



Nov, 4 1924. 1.543.976-

L. L. D. ELDERKEN I SOLE AS SORTING MACHINE Filed March 24. L922 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 INYENTBR;

QWMOMWM Nov. 4 1924. 1,513,976

L. L. D. ELDERKIN SOLE AS SORTING MACHINE Filed March 24 L922 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y INVENT UR 23 (ZM Nov. 4 1924. 1,513,976

L. L. D. ELDERKIN SOLE ASSORTING MACHINE Filed March 24 L922 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Nova 4 1924. 1,513,976

L. L. D. ELDERKIN SOLE AS SORTING MACHINE Filed March 24 1922 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INYENTU ama w New. 4 g 1924- L. L. D ELDERKIN sous ASSORTING MACHINE Filed March 24 1922 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INYENTUR.

L. L. D. ELDERKIN SOLE ASSORTING MACHINE Filed March 24 L922 '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 EINVENTUR 2:

QM, QWWM LESTER L. D. ELDER-KIN, F TOLEDO, OHIO.

SOLE-ASSOBTIITG MACHINE. v

Application fi led March 24, 1922.

To all whomz't may concern:

Be it known that I, Lns'rnn L. 1), Emma KIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ghio, have made an invention appertaining to Sole-Asserting Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked, thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a machine whereby soles, lifts etc. of boots, shoes, slippers and the like may be readily assorted according to the thickness of parts of the soles. Leather soles are graded in the market and their value is determined somewhat according to the thickness of the said particularloarts of each sole. The soles are assorted or graded according to the thinness of the said particular parts, that is, the sole in some parts may be thicker than in other parts without affecting the grading or the value of the sole. My invention thus provides a means whereby soles may be calipered and automatically assorted according to the calipering.

The invention may be contained in structures of different forms, and to illustrate a practical application of the invention I have selected a construction containing the invention and shall describe it hereinafter. The structure selected is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 of the drawings illustrates a front view of the machine. Fig. 2 illustrates a part of a sole conveyor. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the part illustrated in Fig. 2, taken on the line 33 indicated in Fig. 2-. Fig. at illustrates a part of an as sorting mechanism. Fig. 5 illustrates a sec iional view taken on the line 5-5 indicated in Fig a. Fig. 6 is a. sectional view taken on the line also indicated in Fig. f u. Fig. 7 is a side view of the mechanism, showing an assembly of the assorting mechanism. it is partly in section, it being taken on the line 7-7 indicated in F 1. Fig. 8 is a rear view of the hopper mechanism. Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the hopper mechanism Serial No. 546,347.

taken on the line 99 indicated in Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a top view of a plurality of devices for engaging heel top lifts to prevent their escape from a hopper mechanism. Fig. 11 is a sectional view, taken on the line 11-11 indicated in Fig. 10, showing a modified hopper containing the device il lustrated in Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a view on a larger scale, showing a mechanism for controlling the assorting mechanism according to the calipering of the soles. Fig. 18 is a sectional view taken on the line 13-13 indicated in F ig. 12. Fig. 14- illustrates the mechanism shown in Fig. 12 in a position different from that shown in Fig. 12. Fig. 15 illustrates the calipering mechanism, also shown in Fig. 13, in a position dilferent from the position of the mechanism shown in Fig. 14. Fig. 16 is a detailed view of one of the calipering parts. Fig. 17 illus trates a sectional view taken on the line 1717 indicated in Fig 17 of the flies or covers leading to the bins of assorted soles. Fig. 18 is a perspective view of one of the covers. Fig. 19 illustrates vmeans for adjusting the selective controlling means. Fig. 20 also illustrates a means for adjusting the selective controlling means which coacts with the adjustable means illustrated in Fig. 19. Fig. 21 also illustrates a means for ad- 3' usting the selective controlling means, which also coacts with the means illustrated in Fig. 19. Fig. 22 illustrates a leather sole, the calipered points being indicated by dotted lines, it being understood, however, that the location of the points may be greatly varied.

1, in certain of the figures, is the supporting frame for supporting the parts of the mechanism. 2 is the driving wheel for driving the movable parts of the mechanism. The wheel 2 is connected by a shaft 3 and sprocket chain 4 to a shaft 5 forming a part of the hopper mechanism.

The soles to be assorted are placed in the hopper 6. A plurality of sprocket chains 7 extend across the bottom of the hopper and are moved by the operation of the shaft 5 and sprocket wheels The soles 9 to be assorted are placed on the chains 7 the lower soles being held by springpressed gates 10 from movements by the chains. The gates 10 are pivotally connected to the rear' wall 11 of the hopper and are springpressed of the frictional contact with the lowermost sole and thus all of the soles above the lowermost soles are held within the hopper while the lowermost sole is pushed out from the hopper. v

The soles are thus successively engaged by the dog 13 and ca 'ried rearward until their edges are caught between the peripheries of thediscs or rollers 14: and 15. The discs 14 are located on the shaft 5 and thus the soles are carried forward by the operation of the discs 14;, the soles being pressed against the discs 14 by the pressure of the discs 15. The discs 15 are supported on arms 16 and the rod 17 and are springpressed towards the dis TS 141 by the springs 18 that surround the rod 17 @ne end of each of the springs is secured in an arm 16 and the other end in a collar 19 which is secured to the rod 17. The rod 17 is secured to the hopper 6.

The soles are delivered from between the discs 14 and 15 into a chute 20 which. conducts them to conveyor. The chute 20 is provided with a fly 21 which operates to retain the soles within the chute until. predetermined time which is controlled by the mechanism that performs the calipering operation in order that the delivery from the chute may be accomplished in unison with the operations of the calipering mecha-- nism. The fly is operated by means of the arm 22 which is connected to the rod 23 and a. cam 24:, that located on the shaft 3, operates to raise and lower the rod 23 and consequently to angularly move the arm 22 and swing the fly 23 first to cause it to take one diagonal p sit-ion across the chute 20, and then a second diagonal. position across the chute 20. The soles pass to near the lower end of the chute and to the lower edge of the fly, where they are held until the fly 21 makes its succeeding movement. The soles are thus delivered from the chute alternately from above and below the fly. and at a definite time syncronously arrange l according to the position of the calipering mechanism and according to the conveying mechanism that conveys the soles to the oalipering mechanism. I v

The conveying mechanism is provlded with sprocket chains 26 that are operated chains 26 are connected together by parallel suitably dis aosed bars 32. The bars 32 are provided with lugs 33 that extend outward and so as to engage the lower edges of the soles as they are delivered from the chute 20, the fly 21 being so timed with reference to the movement of the bars 32 past the end of the chute that the soles are delivered. from the lower ends of the chute when the bars pass beneath the lower edge of the end of the chute. The soles 9 are supported by the bars 3 and guided by the shield 34 as the soles are successively carried down to the c-a lipering b01135.

The calipering box provided with a plurality of calipering slides 36 having; adjustable calipering points or knobs 3' that make contact with the sole 9 at particular parts thereof according to the adjustments of the knobs 37. The knobs 37 areadjusted by means of tie screws 38 that may be rotated to shift the knobs 37 across the ends of the slides 36 and to any desired point so as to cause the knobs 37 to engage any particular desired parts of the soles 9. The soles 9 are conveyed by the chains 26 through the openings 4:0 and are engaged by the springs 41 to hold them in position between the ends of the calipering slides and the rear side of the calipedng boX. VVhile they are thus being held from movement by possible contact with. the chains 26 the slides 36 are permitted to shift towards each sole! until the knobs of the slides make contact with the sole.

The slides are withdrawn from their calipering position by the operation of does havin cam slots 4-2 in which are located roll.- ers d3 supported on. pins tween the sides of the slides 36, between. which the dogs vertically slide to produce horizontal sliding movements of the caliperine' slides 36. I

The dogs d5 are raised by the operation of the cam 16 located on the shaft 3 in advance of the entry of a sole 9 into the calipering box 35. When the sole 9 is placed in position to be calipered the dogs 45 are rcle'ased by the operation of the cam 16 and the slots 42 being located diagonally with respect to the horizontal and the vertical, the calipering slides 36 are moved forward until the calipering points 37 make contact with the sole 9. if. any of the slides, such as the end slides do not make contact with 4-4- and secured beill the sole they drop to their lowermost position, such as to the cam 46, while the other dogs are held up owing to the fact that the slides can move only such distance as is permitted by the sole 9, that is they will move downwards to such points in their vertical paths as is determined by the thickness of the sole at the points at which their respective calipering knobs make contact.

The dogs are provided with finger points 48 that move in proximity to a tilting cross-bar 49 that is pivoted on standards 50 suit-ably supported on the calipering box. A finger 51 is connected to the cross bar 49 and is located on the opposite side of the pivot bar 52 from the cross bar 49. A spring 53 is located on the pivot bar 52 and so connected between one of the standards 50 and the cross bar 49 as to causethe bar 49 to be yieldingly raised except as it may be held down by one or the other of the finger points 48 of the dogs 45, and thus operates to hold the finger 51 in any of the positions to which it may be tilted by the operations of the dogs 45. The position of the pivot bar 52 and of the cross bar 49 is such as to permit the finger points of the dogs to pass below the cross bar when the calipering knobs associated with such dogs do not strike the soles to be calipered. Thus the position of th cross bar 49 is determined bythe lowermost finger point whose calipering slide has made contact with the sole, and the finger 51 will be raised to a corresponding position determined by the finger point of the lowermost dog whose calipering slide makes contact wit-h the sole. This will be the thinnest of the selected parts which determines its classification. The position of the finger 51 may thus be used as the determining element for grading the soles.

lVhen the finger 51 has taken its deter1nining position a registering slide 55 moves forward and is engaged by the finger 51. The distance that the slide 55 is permitted to move forward by the finger 51 causes the mechanism to be set for the assorting of the sole that has been calipered and caused the definite location of the finger 51. The slide is provided with an inclined edge formed by steps 56 that are moved towards the end of the finger 51. The slide 55 is stopped in its sliding movement according to the step that engages the finger 51.

The slide 55 is moved by the rod 57 located on the pin 58 supported in the boss or lugs 59 and by the rod 60 that is connected to the rod 57 by means of the spring 61 that operates to yieldingly cause the separation of the rods 57 and 60, the pressure of the spring 61 on the rod 57 being somewhat counterbalanced by the operation of the spring 62, whereby the rod 57 may be pushed forward until the registering slide strikes the finger 51 and further movement of the rod 60 will do no more than to spring-press the rod 57 and thus to press the registering slide 55 against the finger 51. The rod 60 is operated by the cam 63, the rod being provided with a ball 64 at its outer end which rides up on the cam surface to move the end of the rod parallel to the axis of the cam and thus to move the registering slide until it strikes the finger 51. position while the raised portion of the cam moves under the ball 64 located on the end of the rod 60, and during this period the assorting mechanism is set so as to assort the sole which has thus defined the position of the registering slide 55. The plate 57 has a cross pin located in a slot 71 formed in the plate 55.

A plate 65 is connected to the registering slide 55. The plate 65 is provided with sloping edges 66 and the chains 26 are provided with parallel rode 67 that extends across two of the chains 26. Lid opening cams 68 are slidably located on the rods 67. A pair of cam centering bars 69 are located in the path of the shiftable cams 68 to cause the cams to be shifted to the center point on the rods 67. The centering rods 69 are sloped towards each other and if the cams 68 are located at one side of the centers of the rods 67 they will be pushed to the center by either one or the other of the centering rods 69 as th cams are moved downward by the operation of the chains 26. The cams will then strike a sloping edge of the plate 65 and will be shifted to one side or the other along the rod 67 on which it is located and to a point which is determined according to the position that the registering slide 55 is permitted to move by the finger 51 of the calipering mechanism. The cams 68 when they are thus located are locked in position on the rods 67 by means of pivoted cam bars 72 each having a flattened side. Each bar 72 is located behind the bar 67 and extends between the chains 26. The cams 68 are secured to blocks 7 3 through which the bars 72 and 67 extend. Rotation of the. bars 72 thus binds the-blocks and the bars 67 and consequently holds the cams in the position that they have been shifted by the operation of the plate 65. One end of each bar 72 is provided with a sector '74, and the frame 1 of the machine is provided with a pair of projecting bosses or blocks 75 that operate on the sector 74 to throw it to looking and unlocking positions, whereby the cams 68 are unlocked before the cams reach the centering bar 69, and into locking position after the cams leave the plate 65.

When the cams 68 leave the plate 65 the dogs 45 are raised by the operation of the cam 46, and a subsequent plate or bar 32 passes through the calipering box and the lower lugs 38 engage the sole that has been The slides are thus held in calipered and pushes the sole 9 against the springs 41 and moves it along the apron 7 6 following the cam 68 that has been set ac cording to the calipering of the sole. The

i sole and its associated cam 68 are then carriedupward, the sole being moved upward between the front side of the container 77 by two of the chains 26.

The container 77 is provided with a plurality of partitions 7 8 which divides it into a plurality of chambers. A fly or cover 79 is located at the top of each partition. The flies 7 9 operate as inclined slides or chutes that lead to each of the chambers of the container 7 7 They are located between the side walls of the frame 1 and thus they operate to guide the soles to one or another of the chambers of the container according to the position that the flies or covers 79 are pushed by the operations of the cams 68. The flies are pivoted to the top of the container 77 and are provided with overlapping fingers 80. The upper ends of the flies 79 rest against the apron or wall 81 that terminatesat the upper edge of the uppermost fly 79. The cam 68 engages one of the overlapping fingers and raises all of the flies 79 having fingers 80 located above the finger that is raised or operated on by the cam 68. The fingers 80 correspond in position to the steps 56 of the registering slide 55 and the finger that is engaged depends upon the setting ot the cam 68 which is determined by the step that is engaged by the finger 51 and since the fingers overlap all of the flies having fingers located above the finger that is engaged by the cam 68 will be raised, leaving the fly located below the fly having the finger that was engaged, in its normal position, that is, its upper edge resting against the wall 81. The flies that are thus moved are held in position by means of the toothed bar 83 which is pivoted to the frame 1 and springpressed towards the side edges of the flies, as shown in 17, by the springs 84. lVhen, therefore, a number of the flies are raised, their edges move along the teeth and are held in the position that they are moved by the cam 68. Thus the passageway to the particular chamber of the container 77 is maintained open by the bar 8?; until the sole 9 which determined the position of the cam 68 that caused the opening of the passageway to the particular cl'iamber is allowed to fall over the upper edge of the wall 81. It will drop onto the uppermost flythat has not been moved and will slide into the particular chamber where the soles having the same calipering measurements, as determined by the calipering mechanism, are likewise deposited. In this way the soles are assorted and'may be moved from the container in any suitable manner.

In opder to insure the delivery of the soles "from the container, projecting bars or teeth 87 may be located in'proximity to the chains 26 and a spring 88 may protrude from the teeth 87 to turn the soles 9 downward and cause them to fall to the uppermost fly that has not been lifted by the operation of the cam 68. v

The bar 83 is provided with a linger 90, and one of the chains 26 is provided with knobs 91 that operate tolift the finger 90, and consequently to lift the bar 83 to permit all of the flies 79 that have been raised by the operation of the cam 68 to drop since by the raising of the bar 83 the teethot the bar are removed from engaging relation with the flies that have been raised and per mit them to fall preparatory to a subsequent operation of a succeeding cam 68.

If desired, one-half the number of flies or lids '7 9 may be provided as there are steps on the registering slide 55, each fly or lid being provided with a pair of fingers 80 as shown in Fig. 1. Two sizes of soles will thus be placed in each chamber of the container and these may be easily separated from each other by reason of the fact that the difference in thickness-will be noticeable.

In the operation otthe mechanism the soles are delivered from the hopper into the chute 20 and are released from the bottom of the chute at definite timesby the operation of the fly 21 as determined by the cam 24 located on the driving shaft 3. They are engaged by the upper lugs 83 of the bar 32 and thus conveyed to the c-alipering box 85 while the dogs 45 are held in their raised position by the operation of the cam 16.

The dogs are then allowed to descend by the operation of the cam 46 which moves the calipering slides 36 towards each succeeding sole 9 to engage particular parts of each sole. engage the bar 49. The lowermost dog whose caliperingslide makes contact with the sole 9 determines the position of the finger 51. The registering slide 55 is then moved forward by the operation of the cam 63 and its position is determined by the step 56 that is engaged by the finger. The position of the plate 65, which is connected to' the slide 55, is thus determined, and the cams 68 that are carried by two of the cliiains 26 on rods 67 aremoved to positions on the rod 67 according to the position of the finger 51. The earns 68 are then looked The finger points of the dogs l5 by the rods 7 2 and the soles 9 are delivered I from the calipering box and are conveyed to the top of the container 7 7 following the cams that have been set according to the chambers into which the soles are to be assorted. The cams 68 then engage the fingers 80 according to the positions that the cams have been set and open the passageway to the particular chamber into which the following soles are to be assorted. The

ISQ

the sole they drop to their lowermost position, such as to the cam 46, while the other dogs are held up owing to the fact that the slides can move only such distance as is permitted by the sole 9, that is, they will move downwards to such points in their vertical paths as is determined by the thickness of the sole at the points at which their respective calipering knobs make contact.

The dogs are provided with finger points 48 that move in proximity to a tilting cross-bar 49 that is pivoted on standards 50 suitably sup-ported on the calipering box. A finger 51 is connected to the cross bar 49 and is located on the opposite side of the pivot bar 52 from the cross bar 49. A spring 53 is located on the pivot bar 52 and so connected between one of the standards 50 and the cross bar 49 as to cause the bar 49 to be yieldingly raised except as it may be held down by one or the other of the finger points 48 of the dogs 45, and thus operates to hold the finger 51 in any of the positions to which it may be tilted by the operations of the dogs 45. The position of the pivot bar 52 and of the cross bar 49 is such as to permit the finger points of the dogs to pass below the cross bar when the calipering knobs associated with such dogs do not strike the soles to be calipered. Thus the position of the cross bar 49 is determined by the lowermost finger point whose calipering slide has made contact with the sole, and the finger 51 will be raised to a corresponding position determined by the finger point of the lowermost dog whose calipering slide makes contact with the sole. This will be the thinnest of the selected parts which determines its classification. The position of the finger 51 may thus be used as the determining element for grading the soles.

hen the finger 51 has taken its determining position. a registering slide 55 moves forward and is engaged by the finger 51. The distance that the slide 55 is permitted to move forward by the finger 51 causes the mechanism to be set for the assorting of the sole that has been calipered and caused the definite location of the finger 51. The slide is provided with an inclined edge formed by steps 56 that are moved towards the end of the finger 51. The slide 55 is stopped in its sliding movement according to the step that engages the finger 51.

The slide 55is moved by the rod 57 located on the pin 58 supported in the boss or lugs 59 and by the rod 60 that is connected to the rod 57 by means of the spring 61 that operates to yieldingly cause the separation of the rods 57 and 60, the pressure of the spring 61 on the rod 57 being some-what counterbalanced by the operation of the spring 62, whereby the rod 57 may be pushed forward until the registering slide strikes the finger 51 and further movement of the rod 60 will do no more than to spring-press the rod 57 and thus to press the registering slide 55 against the finger 51. The rod 60 is operated by the cam 63, the rod being provided with a ball 64 at its outer end which rides up on the cam surface to move the end of the rod parallel to the axis of the cam and thus to move the registering slide until it strikes the finger 51. The slides are thus held in position while the raised portion of the cam moves under the ball 64 located on the end of the rod 60, and during this period the as sorting mechanism is set so as to assort the sole which has thus defined the position of the registering slide 55. The plate 57 has a cross pin located in a slot 71 formed in the plate 55.

A plate 65 is connected to the registering slide 55. The plate 65 is provided with sloping edges 66 and the chains 26 are provided with parallel rode 67 that extends across two of the chains 26. Lid opening cams 68 are slidably located on the rods 67. A pair of cam centering bars 69 ar located in the path of the shiftable cams 68 to cause the cams to be shifted to the center point on the rods 67. The centering rods 69 are sloped towards each other and if the cams 68 are located at one side of the centers of the rods 67 they will be pushed to the center by either one or the other of the centering rods 69 as the cams are moved downward by the operation of the chains 26. The cams will then strike a sloping edge of the plate 65 and will be shifted to one side or the other along the rod 67 on which it is located and to a point which is determined according to the position that the registering slide 55 is permitted to move by the finger 51 of the calipering mechanism. The cams 68 when they are thus: located are locked in position on the rods 67 by means of pivoted cam bars 72 each having a flattened side. Each bar 72 is located behind the bar 67 and extends between the chains 26. The cams 68 are secured to blocks 73 through which the bars 72 and 67 extend. Rotation of the bars: 72 thus binds the blocks and the bars 67 and consequently holds the cams in the position that they have been shifted by the operation of the plate 65. One end of each bar 72 is provided with a sector 74 and the frame 1 of the machine is provided with a pair of projecting bosses or blocks 75 that operate on the sector 74 to throw it to looking and unlocking positions, whereby the cams 68 are unlocked before the cams reach the centering bar 69, and into locking posi-- tion after the cams leave the plate 65.

When the cams 68 leave the plate 65 the dogs 45 are raised by the operation of the cam 46, and a subsequent plate or bar 32 passes through the calipering box and the lower lugs 33 engage the sole that has been container 77.

calipered and pushes the sole 9 against the springs l1 and moves it along the apron 7 6 following the cam 68 that has been set according to the calipering of the sole. The sole and its associated cam 68 are then carried upward, the sole being moved upward between the front side of the container 77 by two of the chains 26.

The container 77 is provided with a plurality ofpartitions 78 which divides it into aplurality of chambers. A fly or cover 79 is located at the top of each partition. The flies 79 operate as inclined slides or chutes that lead to each of the chambers of the They are located between the side walls of the frame 1 and thus they operate to guide the soles to one or another of the chambers of the container according to the position that the flies or covers 79 are pushed by the operations or the cams 68. The fiies are pivoted to the top of the container 77 and are provided with overlapping fingers 80. The upper ends of the flies 79 rest against the apron or wall 81 that terminates at the upper edge of the uppermost fly 79. The cam 68 engages one of the over lapping fingers 80 and raises all of the flies 79 having fingers 80 located above the finger that is raised or operated on by thecam 68. The fingers 8O correspond in position to the steps 56 of the registering slide 55 and the finger that is engageddepends upon the setting of the cam 68 which is determined by the step that is engaged by the finger 51 and since the fingers overlap all of the fiies having fingers located above the finger that is engaged by the cam 68 will be raised, leaving the fly located below the fiy having the finger that was engaged, in its normal position, that is, its upper edge resting against the wall 81. moved are held'in position by means of the toothed bar 83 which is pivoted to the frame 1 and spring-pressed towards the side edges of the flies, as shown in Fig. 17, by the springs 8st. l Vhcn, therefore, a number of the fiies are raised, their edges move along the teeth 85 and are held in the position that they are moved by the cam 68. Thus the passageway to the particular chamber of the container 77 is maintained open by the bar 88 until the sole 9 which deteri'nined the position ot the cam 68 that caused the opening of the passageway to the }i)tt1i3lCLllll c-l'ianiber is allowed to fall over the upper edge of the wall 81. uppermost fly that has not been moved. and will slide intothe particular chamber where the soles having the same calipering measurements, as determined by the calipering mechanism, are likewise deposited. In this way the soles are assorted and may be removed from the container in any suitable manner.

In order to insure the delivery of the soles The flies that are thus It will drop onto the "from the container, projecting bars or teeth 87' may be located in proximity to the chains 26. and a spring 88 may protrude from the teeth 87 to turn the soles 9 downward and cause them to fall to the uppermost fly that has not beenlitted by the operation of the cam 68. I

The bar 88 is provided with a finger 90, and one of the chains 26 is provided with knobs 91 that operate to lift the finger 90, and consequently to lift the bar 83 to permit all of the flies 79that have been raised by the operation of the cam 68 to drop since by the raising of the bar 83 the teeth of the bar are removed from engaging relation with the flies that have been raised and permit them to tallpreparatory to a subsequent operation ot a succeeding cam 68.

If desired, one-half the number of flies or lids 79 may be provided as there are steps on the registering slide 55, each fiy or lid being provided with a pair of fingers 80 as shown in Fig. 1. thus be placed'in each chamber o1 the container and these may be easily separated from each other by reason of the fact that the difference in thickness-will be noticeable.

In the operation of the mechanism the soles are delivered from the hopper into the chute 20 and are released from the bottom of the. chute at definite times by the operation of the fly 21 as determined by the cam 2 L located on the driving shaft 3. They are engaged by the upper lugs 33 of the bar 32 and thus conveyed to the calipering box 85 while the dogs are held in their raised position by the operation of the cam 46. The dogs are then allowed to descend by the operation of ceeding sole 9 to engage particular parts of each sole. The finger points of the dogs 45 engage the bar 49. The lowermost dog whose calipering slide makes contact with the sole 9 determines the position of the finger 51. The registering slide isthen moved forward by the operation of the cam 63 and its position is determined by the step 56 that is engaged by the finger. The position of the plate 65, which is connected to the slide 55, is thus determined, and the cams 68 that are carried by two ot the chains 26 on rods 67 are moved to positions on the rod 67 according to the position. of the finger 51.. The cams 68 are then locked by the rods 72 and thesoles 9 are delivered from the calipering box and are conveyed to the top of the container 77 following the cams that have been set according to the chambers into which the soles are to be assorted. The cams 68 then engage the fingers 8O according to the positions that the cams have been set and open the passageway toithe particular chamber into which the tollowi-ng :solesare to be asserted. The

the cam 46 which moves the calipering slides 86 towards each suc-' Two sizes of soles will inserts 109 may thus be flies or lids 7 9 are held open by the. bar 83 until the soles have been deposited, where upon the knobs 91 operating on the finger 9O releases the engaging bar 83 and allows the flies or lids 7 9 totake their normal position preparatory to receiving the succeeding sole.

In Fig. 19 is shown a means for adjusting the pointer 51 relative to the bar 49 so as to permit a relatively corresponding change in the positions of the plate 65. The part [85 which corresponds to the finger 51 is provided with a pair of lugs 86 that form a Y with the body portion of the finger 85. The finger 85 may be inserted over the shaft 52 and bolts 87 screwed through the lugs 86 so as to clamp the bar 49 between the ends of the bolts 87. Lock nuts 88 may be provided for securing the bolts in position to prevent rotation when the finger 85 has been adjusted relative to the bar 49.

In Fig. 20 is shown a slide wherein the stepped edge may be changed or adjusted as may be desired. The steps are formed by a plurality of inserts whose height rela tive to the plate may be altered and thus secure the desired classification of the soles. A slide plate 89 is provided with the inserts 109 that are secured in position by means of a plurality of screw bolts 91. The inserts 109 may be located in sockets or recesses 92 and the screws 91' may be inserted through slots 92 formed in the slide 89 and screwed into-the inserts 109. The adjusted within the recesses 92 within the limitations of the slots 93 to which the screws 91 extend.

Adjustment may also be made in the dogs 45. In the form shown in, Fig. 21 the finger of the dog is made adjustable by making the finger separable from the body, and thus strips 94 of metal or paper or other suitable material may be inserted between the finger 95 and the body of the dog to vary the height of the finger with reference to the slots 42, and particularly relative to the rollers 43 which are located in the caliper slides 36.

In Fig. 22 is illustrated the sole 9. The dotted squares 96 indicate the positions that the calipering points 37 make contact with the sole 9.

In Figs. 10 and 11 is shown a hopper whereby top lifts of heels may be fed to the calipering means. The top lifts are located in the guide 97 that may be located so that one end thereof will be positioned over a chain belt 7. A plurality of pairs of engaging members 98 may be secured by the pivot pin 99 to the bottom of the hopper and the top lifters 100 will be fed between the ends of the engaging members 98. Each pair of engaging members is provided with inwardly extending fingers 101 that are located in front of the top lifters. The

thickness of the engaging members is about that of the top lifters. The ends of the engaging members are located in an opening 102 formed in the hopper 6. The lug 13 of the chain 7 engages the lowermost of the top lifters and pushes the lowermost top lift outward from between the lower engaging members. The engaging members of each pair are drawn together by means of springs 103, and thus they yieldingly resist outward movement of the top lifters except as they are positively pushed by the lug 13. The top lift falls into the chute 20 and is controlled by the fly 21 as in the case of the soles 9.

I claim:

1. In an assorting machine for sole leather and the like, a. plurality of independently operating calipering parts for en gaging the article of be calipered at different points for independently determining the thickness of predetermined different parts of leather soles, means for collecting the soles together that produce substantially the same extreme calipering results by any one of the calipering means that contact with the leather.

2. In an assorting machine for sole leather and the like, a plurality of ind pendently operating calipering parts for engaging the article to be calipered at different points for independently determining the thickness of predetermined different parts of leather soles, a conveyor for conveying the soles from the calipering means to points determined according to the extreme calipering results obtained from any one of the calipering means that contact with the leather.

8. In an asserting machine for sole leather and the like, a plurality of independently operating calipering parts for engaging the article to be calipered at clifferent points for independently determining the thickness of predetermined different parts of leather soles, means for collecting the soles together that have the same thickness at a predetermined part that is the thinnest.

4. In a sole leather ass-orting machine, a calipering means for determining the thickness of soles, a plurality of chutes, means controlled by the calipering means for open ing the chutes according to the calipering results.

5. In a sole leather asserting machine, a calipering means for determining different thicknesses of sole leather and having a plurality of calipering elements located in predetermined positions relative to the sole pieces when being calipered, a conveyor for conveying the soles from the calipering means and having movable parts set by the calipering element that measures the thin nest part of the sole, a single movable part being carried by the conveyor in associated relation to the sole that pie-determines its position, the said single movable part being operable upon for any thickness of sole 1 to be associated therewith.

.6. In a sole leather assorting machine, a calipering means for determining different thicknesses of sole leather and having a plurality of calipering elements, some of Which strike the sole in the calipering operations of the calipering means, others of Which may not strike the sole by reason of the position or size of the sole relative to the calipering means, a conveyor for conveying the soles from the calipering means and delivering the soles according to the thickness of the thinnest part of the sole, as determined by the calipering elements that touch. the sole, the said conveyor being free from control-of the calipering elements that do not touch the sole.

7 In a sole leather asserting machine, a calipering means, a conveyor for conveying the soles from the calipering means, and having movable parts set by the calipering means and each carried by the conveyor in associated relation to the sole that determined its position, chutes controlled by the said parts for receiving the soles according to the position in which the said part is set by each sole.

8. Ina sole leather assorting machine, a calipering means for determining the thickness of soles, a conveyor for conveying the soles from the calipering means, adjustable partsset by the calipering means according to the thickness of the soles and carried by the conveyor, a container having a plurality of chambers, lids leading to each of the chambers, the parts set by the soles operating to move the lids by the movement of the conveyor to open the chamber.

9. In a sole leather assorting machine, a calipering means for determining the thickness of soles, a conveyor for conveying the soles from the calipering means, adjustable cams set by the calipering means according to the thickness of the soles and carried by the conveyor, a container having a plurality of chambers, lids leading to each of the chambers, the cams set by the soles operating to move the lids by the movement of the conveyor to open the chamber.

10. In a sole leather assorting machine, a calipering means, a movable registering member controlled by the calipering member and having a sloping edge, a conveyor for conveying the soles from the calipering member, a plurality of adjustable cams car ried by the conveyor and adjusted by the sloping edge of the registering member, a plurality of lids operated by the cams according to their adjustments, a plurality of chambers opened by the cams moving the said lids accordingto the thickness of hers,

the soles as determined by the calipering means. I

11. In a sole leather assortingmachine,

a calipering means, a chute for the soles to the calipering means, and having a tly for releasing the soles from the chute, a conveyor for conveying the soles to. the calipering means and from the calipering means, a plurality of adjustable parts, means controlled by the calipering means for adjusting the said parts according to the thinness of one of predetermined parts of the sole, and means controlled by the ad justa-ble parts for separating the soles according to the adjustment of said parts.

- 12. In a calipering means, a plurality of independently operated caliper-ing contact parts having contact points for contacting predetermined parts of the device to be caliper-ed, a part having a contact surface opposed to the points and for limiting the movement of the points, means for moving the contact parts towards the contact surface until they are stopped by the surface or by the article to be caliper-ed.

13. In a. calipering means, independently operated calipering contact parts ha ing contact points for contacting predetermined parts of the device to be calipered, a part having a contact surface opposed to the points, means for moving the contact parts towards the contact surface until they are stopped by the surface or by the article to be calipered, and means for assorting the article and controlled by a con tact part making contact with the article at a point determining the classification of the article. i

14. In a calipering means, a plurality of slides having contact points, a plurality of dogs for movingthe slides to and away from an opposing contact surface, an arm controlled by the dogs that make contact With the object calipered, and a movable slide controlled by the said arm, the slide having a cam surface,

delivering a plurality of and means controlled by the said cam surface for opening one of the said charm bers, and a conveyor for conveying the articles calipered to the opened chamber. 15. In a sole leather asserting machine, a calipering means for engaging the soles to be calipei'cd, a conveyor for conveying the soles from the calipering means, adjustable parts set by the calipering means according to the thickness of the soles and carried by the conveyor, a container having a plurality of chambers, guides leading to each of the chambers, the parts set by the soles operating tocontrol the delivery of the soles from the conveyor to onset the guides.

16. In a calipering means, a plurality of independently operated calipering contact parts having contact points contacting predetermined parts of the device to be calia plurality of cham-:

pered, a part having a contact surface opposed to the points, means for moving the contact parts towards the contact surface until they are stopped by the surface or by the article to be oalipered, and an assorting means controlled by the contact part making contact with the thinnest part of the article.

17. In a calipering means. a plurality of independently operated calipering contact parts having contact points for contacting predetermined parts of the device to be calipered, a part having a contact surface opposed to the points, means for moving the contact parts towards the contact surface until they are stopped by the surface or by the article to be calipered, a conveyor for conveying the articles from the calipering means, adjustable members connected to the conveyor and set by the contact part making contact with the thinnest part of the article, means operated by the members for delivering the articles from the conveyor according to the position that the members are set.

18. In a calipering means, a plurality of independently operated caiipering contact parts having contact points for covering the predetermined parts of the device to be calipered, It part having a contact surface opposed to the points, means for moving the contact parts towards the contact surface until they are stopped by the surface or by the article to be calipered, a continuously operated conveyor for conveying the articles from the c-alipering means, adjustable members connected to the conveyor and set by the contact part making contact with the thinnest part of the article, means operated by the members for delivering the articles from the conveyor according to the position that the members are set.

In testimony Whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to this specification.

LESTER L. D. ELDERKIN. 

